THE PRINCIPLE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF LOCAL SELFGOVERNMENT BODIES AND THEIR OFFICIALS: SUBSTANTIVE CONTENT IN CONDITIONS OF DECENTRALIZATION OF POWER

Abstract

The article provides the essence of accountability and responsibility of local self-government bodies and their officials in terms of conceptual approaches to its understanding and the state of development and implementation of good governance standards. The ideas of domestic and foreign researchers about accountability as a necessary virtue and accountability as a mechanism, a process that requires observation of the optimal model and evaluation; appeal to the procedural understanding of accountability, its various forums (options) and, ultimately, the allocation of vertical accountability relations that are recognized as mandatory and those that provide for direct sanctions; establishment of the differences and similarities of the concepts of accountability and responsibility play an important role in creating a model of national local democracy in the form of local self-government. Such theoretical concepts affect the definition of the content and essence of the principle of accountability and responsibility of their bodies and officials to territorial communities, its consolidation by the Law of Ukraine «On Local Self-Government in Ukraine» of May 21, 1997, and its observance in the course of reforming local self-government and territorial organization of power in Ukraine. It is emphasized that in the arsenal of good governance standards, the standards of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which summarizes and defines the principles of democracy at the local and regional level generally recognized in Europe and obliges the parties to apply the basic rules which guarantee the political, administrative and financial independence of local self-government bodies, accountability has a place and role of the principle of good democratic governance at the local level, first of all, to ensure that deputies of local councils and public officials take responsibility and are responsible for their activities. As a result of the decentralization of power in Ukraine and adaptation to military conditions, the principle of accountability and responsibility of their bodies and officials to territorial communities is expanding and deepening, and its effective implementation is taking place in various forms and means of communication and feedback to territorial communities.